It has been ten long years since the CoAG reform agreement was first formalised between the state and federal governments. In that time much has changed including how regional parties today approach and affect discussion on water reform. In the early days both sides (government agencies and water users) approached with caution, then anger, which was followed by consideration of fact, some more anger and then more recently a desire on both parts to listen, accommodate and try to achieve workable solutions. At least that is how it has been in the Fitzroy Basin, which covers approximately 142,000km' is Queensland's largest externalIy draining basin, home to seven major river systems, over 1400 licensed water users and innumerable plant and animal species. With such area and diversity it becomes easier to comprehend the enormity of the task that faced agency staff when they first addressed water reform in the Fitzroy, but at the time department officials felt it would only take six months. That was in 1997 and the participants are still tackling these issues today. The process has been long, the consultations many with mixed results, participants increasingly difficult to find, budgets cut during the process and fewer from industry coming back to the table each year. Despite all this, the results of engagement between industry and government in the Fitzroy have been impressive, and this paper highlights some of those achievements and the processes by which they were gained.